Ontario logs more than 3,200 new COVID-19 cases, 29 more deaths

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TORONTO — Ontario has logged more than 3,200 new COVID-19 cases and 29 more deaths linked to the disease.

On Monday, provincial health officials logged 3,270 new infections of the novel coronavirus, marking the third time Ontario’s daily case count has climbed above the 3,000 mark.

The highest number of cases reported in a single day in Ontario was seen on Saturday when 3,363 infections were recorded. Before that, the previous record was set on Thursday when 3,328 cases were logged.

The province’s seven-day average for number of cases recorded is now 2,617, up from 2,186 one week ago.

There were 39,121 COVID-19 tests completed in the province in the last-recorded 24-hour period.

The province’s test positivity rate now stands at about 9.7 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health, which is a tie for the highest positivity rate ever reported in Ontario.

Of the new patients logged on Monday, 917 are in Toronto, 581 are in Peel Region, 389 are in York Region, 246 are in Windsor-Essex County, 131 are in Ottawa, 126 are in Waterloo Region, and 122 are in Durham Region.

Other areas that recorded more than 50 cases of the disease on Monday include Eastern Ontario (55), Simcoe Muskoka (54), Lambton (77), Middlesex-London (98), Hamilton (94), Halton Region (70), and Niagara Region (86).

Monday’s case count brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 194,232, including deaths and recoveries.

With the 29 new deaths confirmed by health officials on Monday, the province’s death toll is now 4,679. Of the deaths confirmed Monday, 14 were residents of long-term care homes.

Health officials deemed 2,074 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Monday, bringing Ontario’s number of recovered patients up to 164,775.

There are currently 24,778 active cases of the novel coronavirus in Ontario.

According to the province, there are at least 1,190 patients infected with COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals. Of those patients, 333 are in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 194 of those 333 patients are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

The province has said that when more than 300 COVID-19 patients are in the ICU, medical care not related to the disease becomes nearly impossible to handle.

In an effort to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, all of Ontario entered strict lockdown on Boxing Day. The lockdown measures are scheduled to last until Jan. 23 in the southern parts of the province (south of Sudbury) and until Jan. 9 in the northern parts.